“What?” She asked him, not able to believe he’d fight her on that. “What do you mean you think we should keep going? Ben, we beat three floors so we can at least get a very good blessing and not have to worry about you almost dying again. You didn’t want to do this anyway and now I’m agreeing so let’s just go.”

“I mean, yeah you’re right I don’t want to do this, but you do. That’s reason enough to keep going. Also, the gods only lose out on how much faith they have to spend if we make it to the top and I’m still feeling just a little spiteful.”

“Infinite hells, you’re being impossible. I don’t want to keep going, plus I leveled up both of my magics so I got a bit stronger just like I wanted. This is the perfect time to leave.”

“Then why did you keep looking at the door to the next floor like that?” He shot back. “You said you wanted to be as strong as you could for what’s to come, right? Then getting another level immediately after that one is a great shortcut to it.”

“Can’t you see I’m worried about you! You got hurt on the last two floors! What if it happens again on the next ones? There isn’t a break like the first three have so this is our last chance to leave.”

“Yeah, but I was also pretty damn handy on the last few floors too. I figured out the map, saved Yuzu, and figured out we could just avoid the waves to get through the last one, and I’ll keep being useful for whatever’s next. More important than any of that though is that you want to, and I don’t want to be the kind of guy that keeps you from achieving your goals.”

Seeing how serious he looked, she couldn’t help but deflate, resting her forehead against his shoulder as she muttered. “Has anyone ever told you you’re impossible?”

“Just my lovely girlfriend, my lovely teacher, and my lovely god. That’s it.”

“That’s the majority of the people you’re close to. You should probably work on that.”

“Bah, details details, it’s fine. Instead, let’s rest up for a bit before going through there. I’ll cook for everyone.”

And hope I haven’t just given us both a death sentence.

He really, really wanted to take her up on that offer of leaving. It felt like it would have been the smart choice too, but even if she didn’t think she was giving it away, he could see that Thera wanted to keep going, and he didn’t want to stop her.

Just going to tell myself it’s a difference of dying now or in a few months time. That’s kind of optimistic, right?

For a second he longed for the voice of Myriad to speak up, to complain that even if there was the potential for his life to be cut short in the future it didn’t mean he should be willing to walk into danger now, but as with any other time he’d done a trial in the past his god couldn’t respond to him, so he instead cooked a meal while Jake, Amy, and Yuzu had their own discussions on if they even wanted to go on.

With the fact that the two of them would be remaining with the group, it sounded like the answer was a clear yes, their confidence in having a larger party giving them what they needed to see things through to the end of their true goal as his eyes eventually drifted to the last door they would go through.

As per what Myriad and Nare had told him before, he knew that once they entered it they were committed to doing the last two floors, no escaping them no matter how much he wanted to.

Well, there might be a potential to break things a bit, we’ll see. If there’s another section like the colosseum where the door is already there, just blocked, I might be able to do something. Can’t exactly count on that though, the extent I’ve been able to affect trials has been too hit or miss in the past. Plus, it looks like there might be something different here too.

Like the last few doors, this one had a symbol of a mountain on it front and center, representing the earth magic that the tower they were in was meant to challenge, but unlike every other one, this only had that symbol, none of the other ten for each other magic option was present like they had been in the past.

So maybe this is the tower’s way of saying that it won’t be combining affinities anymore? He thought. The last two we’ll be facing pure earth magic. Part of me thinks that would be easier, but I feel like if I do any underestimating like that I’m going to be in a world of hurt. Let’s see, what can you do with the pure affinity? It’s arguably pretty limited with all of it coming down to controlling the element and how skillfully it can be done, but there is one other option that could have some horrifying potential.

Materialization. The same spell that made the nation of Anailia rich actually had a lot of combat applications if one gave it some thought. If a person had the skill and power to cast the spell quickly, he could imagine all sorts of scenarios where lumps of stone or iron were materialized to either trap a person within or to even potentially kill them. If rocks just suddenly appeared within a person’s lungs then that would be the end of it, plain and simple.

And other than that, even if a lot of reactions seem different than I’d get on Earth there’s still probably something that would react with the water in my body for explosive results, or maybe there are elements like enriched uranium that could kill me with radiation poisoning. God, wouldn’t that be fucked? Just make another maze with radioactive walls and if you don’t get out fast enough your body turns to mush? Really going to have to remember to ask Quilith if there’s anything in this world that can do that. I’d rather not work with something and not even realize it’s killing me.

In the end, it was no different from trying to guess what the dead god’s trial was going to throw at them. There was no way to know unless they actually made it in so there was no way to prepare, especially since he’d already made everything he could, so instead he stopped thinking about it, trying to give himself just a bit of peace as he called everyone over to eat.

After food and resting a few more hours, letting them all regain as much mana as they could before the next section, they all stood in front of the door. Jake, Amy, and Yuzu each looking like they were grappling with something until one of them finally spoke up.

“Hey man, you think we could each carry a couple potions to be safe?” Jake asked Ben.

They all knew he had a few, and there was always the risk they could be separated again so he didn’t particularly mind and he handed over a vitality and mana potion each as he looked in his bag to see just how low his stock had gotten.

He’d prepared the best he could, but the second floor had taken a lot out of his supplies and he had to admit the feeling left him on edge.

If I ever do a trial again for some god-forsaken reason I’m making sure every pocket I have has a spatial effect on it and want to be carrying a store's worth of tools and supplies. Of course, then I’m sure I’ll get in and see it's still not enough.

As he was thinking that, Jake moved beside him, slipping the two potions he’d been given into the pockets of Ben’s jacket, not saying a word as Ben stared at him, waiting for an explanation.

“...I’m missing something,” He muttered as he reached into his bag to hand Jake two new ones. All of them were being quiet, a clear enough sign they were dealing with the effects of the covenant they were under as he rushed to try and figure it out. “Is there a reason to suspect I might need to top up my mana or vitality as soon as I get in there? If you guys aren’t saying it then it can’t be because of a suspicion, it has to be from the last trial you all did, but then what is it?”

He wasn’t getting it and it was annoying him. He didn’t like the feeling that he was missing out on an important piece of information when his life was on the line, but the ways he could attempt to rectify it were limited. He could either go through the doorway to whatever they were about to face for one, or for the other…

Before Jake could react Ben’s hand shot out, grabbing his in turn as he connected to the man and spoke up. “Jake, what are we about to deal with?”

He was waiting for anything, the smallest flash of thought to cross his mind, but the covenant was as firm as when he’d tried to do the same with Will in the past. Even an attempt to think that could be passed along was blocked from him as Ben eventually gave up, gritting his teeth in annoyance until he forcibly unclenched his jaw and sighed.

“Okay then, if we aren’t finding out any other way then let’s get in and get this over with.”

As much as he didn’t really want to, the only way to find out what they’d be facing was by going through the door, so without any more hesitation they stepped through to face whatever was to come.